Dark Beginnings
by YamiShiningFriendship
Summary: This is the past of my oc, Rei. Ties in with Hidden Secrets. Tells how Rei and Bakura came to be siblings and all the trials and tribulations they go through. Rated for future bad language and themes later on in the fic. Enter Marik!
1. Chapter 1

YSF: ok, since Hidden Secrets is giving me trouble, I decided to make an offshoot story. It focuses on my OC, Rei, and tells about her beginnings, how she met Bakura, and the evens that led to her ending up in the present.

Rei: Joy

YSF: Hush. It's for those who wonder where the heck I make some things up.

Note: it's not canon, but merely my interpretation of events.

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Rei lay on her bed in Ryou's house, looking over a scroll that Malik had lent her. Finishing the scroll, Rei set it down with a sigh before rubbing her temples.

"Something wrong, Sis?" Bakura asked from the doorway, having been passing by her room just as Rei had sighed.

"hmm? Oh…no, I'm fine, just this scroll that Malik lent me brought up memories of Egypt," Rei explained, looking up and offering her brother a smile.

Bakura abandoned his previous route and entered Rei's room, settling on the bed with Rei, stretched out on his stomach. "Oh? Like what memories?" he asked curiously, slightly wary of the answer.

Rei rolled onto her side so she could face Bakura. "Of when we met, and after you saved me," came the soft reply.

Bakura sighed gently. "Those memories seem to be triggered quite frequently as of late. Maybe it'd be best if you wrote the memories in a notebook, get them out of your head and onto paper," he suggested.

"You sound like Ryou. Did he give you that suggestion?"

"No, Yami did, and I've filled up three notebooks worth of memories," Bakura answered with a slight snort, "It brings me peace of mind since I dwelled on the memories, thus allowing me to move on and let the pain go."

Rei tipped her head in thought. "Maybe I'll give it a shot."

Bakura nodded and ruffled her hair before getting up and continuing onto his destination. That evening Rei entered her room after spending the day with Marik and spotted a package lying on her bed. Opening it, Rei smiled and fingered the beautiful leather-bound notebook and the several pens that had been wrapped with the notebook. Spotting a note, Rei opened it up and read the contents, her eyes widening in surprise. The note read:

_Rei,_

_Bakura told me that you were considering writing a memoir, so I took the liberty of getting you a notebook to start you off. The leather should keep it in good condition for a long time, and I hope you put it to good use._

_-Yami_

Rei was greatly surprised that Yami was the one to have gotten her the notebook, still being on uneasy terms with him, and doubly surprised that it was so nice and suited her as well. Making a mental note to thank him the next time she saw him, Rei stretched out on the bed and picked up a pen. Opening to the first page, she took a deep breath, knowing she was about to go on an emotional rollercoaster, and started to write, opening her mind to her earliest memories.

**FLASHBACK**

The day started out normal for seven year old Bakura. He would get up before the sun and go down to the Nile, wash up, draw water, and return to where his master lived to get started on making breakfast for his master, usually finishing just as his master emerged from his room for the day.

'To think I actually call him that,' Bakura thought with a snort. He didn't see why he ever started calling his caretaker that, even though he did serve the idiot...oh. You see, Bakura, after his family and home were destroyed, made it to Thebes. He had been fully intending to live on the streets when the person he now serves had offered him a hot meal and bed for the night.

Bakura accepted and over the meal, Bakura was offered the chance to stay until he was old enough to live on his own with the only condition being that he had to do the chores as repayment, becoming a servant.

It was a fair deal so Bakura had accepted. The only downside was that when he failed to do something properly, he'd get beaten as a punishment, so he quickly developed a system that got most of the stuff he had to do done while Master went 

wherever he went during the day, leaving him time to correct mistakes in the evening before his work would be inspected. The system worked…most of the time.

Master finished his breakfast and soon left, Bakura cleaning up the kitchen and getting to work on his tasks. He was hanging up laundry behind the house around midday when he heard his name being called. Curiously he headed inside and stopped short. In his master's arms was a sleepy….toddler for lack of a better word. The toddler had shoulder length, scruffy hair that was so dull it looked like it was caked with dirt and needed a good scrubbing. Master set the child down and the little girl immediately fell into a sit, rubbing heavy eyelids.

"Dare I ask?" Bakura stated dryly, already fearing the answer.

"This is your new charge. You will take care of her and when she's a little stronger, she is to help you with your tasks," Master replied.

"Do I look like a babysitter?" Bakura snapped, earning a closed handed hit across his face for his cheek. Hitting the ground, Bakura rubbed his cheek and felt a small hand lay over his. Glancing up, he saw the toddler give Master a dirty look before looking down at him and offering him a weak smile that didn't reach her tired, dark eyes.

Bakura humphed and sat up. "How far did you get in your chores?" Master wanted to know.

"I was finishing hanging up laundry."

"Good. Take your new charge and finish that task and then you're excused from your other tasks for today to go get her washed up and fed and clothed."

Bakura nodded sullenly and grabbing the toddler's hand, tugged her along, ignoring the indignant squawk of protest at being handled so roughly. After finishing the laundry, the toddler sitting next to the house, trying to catch up on rest while he finished, Bakura grabbed soap, some washcloths and a clean shirt of his and took the girl's hand, leading her to the Nile.

It wasn't hard to get her into the Nile, and her rags off. Hell, she played with the water as Bakura washed her skin….and then it came time for her hair….

"Ra damnit! Shut up!" Bakura growled, clapping a hand over her mouth to stop the shrieking. "I'm just washing your hair, nothing more."  


The toddler pulled away and looked at Bakura with wide, teary eyes, which made Bakura realize that they were green, dark with hunger and fatigue. "But mama said my hair is demon hair and I should always keep it dirty to look normal," she whimpered, speaking for the first time.

Bakura rose an eyebrow. "Kid, my hair is white. I'm not made fun of or feared, you'll be fine," Bakura said as warning before putting a hand on top of her head and dunking her under before pulling her back up, rubbing the soap through it and dunking her backwards to rinse the soap out, all the while ignoring the girl's protests. Bakura repeated this process, going more gentler when the toddler stopped fighting, until her hair was clean.

Bakura helped her out of the river and dressed her in his extra shirt, the shirt being big enough that when tied around the waist with a little rope, it made a passable dress. "What's your name?" he asked as he combed through her hair, the girl playing with a lotus flower.

"Rei," she answered shyly, giggling softly when Bakura took the flower and tucked it behind her ear. Bakura got up and moved in front of her and sat down, studying her.

"Mmm, nope. I don't see any demons. What I see is a unique girl with green eyes, and black hair that looks like it was streaked by the sky," Bakura stated. Rei's eyes widened in surprise before she smiled at Bakura, her smile reaching her eyes this time. Bakura returned the smile a little and stood, helping Rei up before catching her as she stumbled. "You're tired aren't you?"

"Sleepy," Rei whimpered in affirmation, "I dunn wanna walk, 'Kura."

Bakura sighed and turned his back to her before crouching. "Get on, I'll carry you home." Once Rei had climbed onto his back and had looped her arms and legs around him, Bakura climbed back to his feet and started home. Once home, Rei slid off Bakura's back and followed him into the house, watching him prepare dinner for their master. Once their master was eating, Bakura retrieved two bowls and split what was left with Rei. Once everything was clean and put away, Bakura took Rei to where he slept and realized a dilemma. While he had a pallet that he slept on, Rei didn't. Making a mental note to bring that up tomorrow, Bakura set Rei on his pallet and after covering her with the blanket, stretched out on the floor next to the pallet.

"'Kura, why're you going to sleep on the floor?" Rei asked.

"Because sleeping on the floor is nothing new and you need more comfort than I do," Bakura answered. Rei shook her head defiantly and sliding off the pallet, curled up next to Bakura.

"If 'Kura won't sleep on the bed then I won't either," she declared softly.

Bakura growled softly and lifting Rei, put her back on the inch-high bed and holding her down so she couldn't get up, settled on her other side. "Better, brat?"

"Uhu…" Rei answered, cuddling to him, the darkness making her miss the small smile that threatened to creep across Bakura's face.

The older boy wrapped his arms around her, getting comfortable. "Rei, how did master obtain you?" he wondered.

"He…saw me sneaking food…said I could stay with him," Rei explained, yawning every so often.

"…How old are you and how did you end up on the streets?"

"I'm this many," Rei answered, holding up three fingers, "came from a nearby village once mama died. Tried to find my daddy, he's a soldier, but I got lost."

Bakura's eyes widened significantly at Rei stating that she was only three. Before he could comment on that, his sharpened hearing picked up steady breathing, signifying that Rei finally fell asleep and whispering a vow to protect her from master, fell asleep as well.

**End Flashback**

Rei paused in her writing, reading over what she had wrote. Deciding to write one more paragraph before going to bed, Rei thought and then resumed her writing.

'_I never told Bakura, but even then I was hiding much from him. I had heard his vow and knew that he wouldn't always be able to uphold it. Having a horrible first few years of life turned me into a pessimistic little brat, but that will come in time soon enough. One thing I never told him was exactly how my mother died. It's not that I was ashamed, I just viewed Bakura as the first good thing to ever happen to me and didn't want to change that. He might have denied anything being changed had he known it was I who _

_killed my own mother to escape her tyranny and abuse, but I wasn't a stupid child. I know now and even knew it then that he would have been more cautious and less open to me once he got used to having me around. But I guess things happen for a reason, and maybe one day I'll finally tell him the truth, but that won't be for a while and the rest of my story is for another day.'_


	2. Chapter 2

YSF: ok, since Hidden Secrets is giving me trouble, I decided to make an offshoot story. It focuses on my OC, Rei, and tells about her beginnings, how she met Bakura, and the events that led to her ending up in the present.

Rei: Joy

YSF: Hush. It's for those who wonder where the heck I make some things up.

Note: it's not canon, but merely my interpretation of events.

Disclaimer…goes here since I forgot to put it last chapter! I don't own yugioh, I'll get back to you if that ever changes

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Bakura silently opened the door to Rei's room the next morning, poking his head in curiously. Normally Rei would already be up and about, shadowing Ryou, his hikari teaching her some more things about this modern time. However, when Bakura had emerged from his room, Ryou had told him that Rei wasn't up yet.

Curiosity piqued, Bakura had gone up to check on her, slightly concerned since any change in Rei's behavior usually meant something was wrong. Seeing Rei still peacefully asleep made Bakura smile softly. Going over to the bed, he tucked the blankets more securely around her and spotted the notebook near the pillow. Even though he knew he shouldn't, Bakura couldn't resist and picked up the notebook.

As he was about to open it, he yelped suddenly and dropped it as Rei's hand darted out and slapped his. "Ow, damn it, what the hell was that for?" he groused, rubbing his hand sullenly. Rei gave him a disapproving look and sat up, picking up the notebook and setting it on her bedside table.

"You're a nosy little bastard, you realize this, correct?" Rei stated, looking at him.

"Got it in one, sis. So, how come you were still asleep? It's not like you to sleep in."

Rei merely shrugged. "I was up late last night writing and decided to sleep in to make up for it."

Bakura smiled, leaning against the wall. "So, you are indeed going to put your memories down. You like the notebook?"

"It's beautiful," Rei replied, glancing over at it, "did you pick it out? I know Yami left a note saying he got it for me, but I can imagine you'd have gotten some input."

That earned a snort. "I swear the pharaoh is like a little kid at times. As soon as I told him you were considering writing out your memories, he literally got bouncy and insisted on getting you the notebook that same day. I had absolutely no say in anything except helping decide which color to get you. I figured black was preferred over red and blue."

Rei nodded. "I like it a lot. I'll have to thank Yami when I next see him."

Bakura's smile grew at that. "I told you he wasn't so bad. I'm going to spend time with him again today, but I won't tell him what you think about the notebook like he asked me to. I'll let you surprise him instead," he stated, pushing off the wall and turning to leave.

Rei nodded and biting her lip in thought, thought about what she had written last night. "Hey Kura, about the notebook…if you want, you can read it once I finish," she stated.

Bakura turned to look at Rei in mild surprise. He had only originally wanted to snoop just to see what she thought of him when they first met, he certainly hadn't expected her to offer it all up to him. "I admit that I'm curious. If that's what you wish then I'll read it once you're finished and in return, you may read my notebooks," he replied before leaving the room.

Rei relaxed a little longer before getting up and wandering downstairs for a late breakfast, early lunch. Once her meager meal was finished, with scolding from Ryou to start eating more, Rei returned to her room and stretched out, reaching for her notebook and opening it to where she left off, started writing again.

**Flashback**

After a few weeks, you think Bakura would be used to having a tag along following where he went. Unfortunately Bakura's patience tended to wear thin and he'd snap at Rei if she accidentally got in his way. He quickly learned that although she was young and small for her age, she had a sharp tongue on her. Sure she was three, but she was three with an attitude, and that attitude could put Bakura in his place if Rei tried hard enough. He didn't care so much about the unique insults Rei's three year old brain could throw at him, it was the fact that Rei would most likely eventually snap at master that had Bakura fearful.

Of course when you don't want something to happen, it usually will happen just to spite you. One night, master told Rei to do something, and Rei, being slightly crabby since she was tired and would now have to wait longer to go to sleep, blatantly refused…right to master's face. Bakura's stomach dropped in dread and he looked up from where he had been mending something just in time to see Master's face turn an interesting color and him backhand Rei harshly to the floor before rising and kicking her in the side. Dropping his mending when Master started shouting and cursing Rei, who was curled into a ball to protect herself from any further blows, Bakura got up and stepped between them.

The suddenness of Bakura's action was enough for Master to stop shouting and stare at Bakura with narrowed eyes. "Move, boy," Master spat.

Bakura took a deep breath and then looked up at Master with a steel resolve. "She's three years old, she still needs rest. You're trying to make her stray from her sleeping pattern that she's used to just so one more thing can get done? I don't think so. And if you need to dish out punishment, hit me all you want, but don't you dare harm Rei.

"So be it," was the reply Bakura got before master descended on him, beating him for both his and Rei's defiance. Once he was satisfied that Bakura was punished enough, master vanished into his room for the night.

"Kura?" Rei whimpered quietly, scooting to the older boy and touching his shoulder gently.

Bakura groaned and picked himself up, raising to his hands and knees. "You ok Rei? he asked, wheezing for breath.

"Side hurts," came the response as Rei rubbed her side lightly, wincing.

Bakura rose up further and reaching out, carefully felt Rei's side, hoping that their master didn't break her ribs with that kick. Ignoring the pained whimpers, Bakura felt the small ribs, sighing when all of them felt fine. "Come on brat, time for bed," Bakura said standing and after a moment's thought, picking up Rei.

Rei wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his shoulders. "Kay Kura," she yawned, resting her head on his shoulder. Bakura carried her into their small room and laid her down on her own pallet bed, tucking her blanket around her before laying on his own bed, taking inventory of his new wounds. None were serious, thankfully. Once that was taken care of, Bakura laid down on his bed and prepared to go to sleep.

"Kura?"

"Go to sleep, Rei."

"But Kura, I have a question."

Bakura growled softly. "What?"

Rei was silent for a second, thinking of how to pose the question. "Will…we be like this forever?"

Bakura thought about that and finally came to the conclusion that she was asking about their slave status. "It does seem like forever, but no. This is not how we will live out our lives. I am promised that I will be freed once I am eighteen, and once I can make some money and find a home, I will come for you and give you the life you deserve.

It was quiet for a minute, and Bakura suspected that Rei had fallen asleep, when she spoke again. "You…you mean that?"

"Yeah…..yeah I do…hey!" Bakura was cut off when he found his arms full of Rei, the little girl happily hugging him. With a small smile, Bakura returned the hug. All right, he admitted it, he cared for the girl and strived to see her happy. "All right brat, go back to bed."

Rei blinked then yawned cutely and snuggled to him, her thumb ending up in her mouth. Bakura tried to dislodge her but had no luck. "Rei, back to bed."

"I am in bed. You never said which bed, so I'm gonna sleep with you tonight."

"…Cheeky little brat."

"Wuv you too Kura."

…

As the year progressed, Master seemed to get more irritable and would find every little excuse to beat Rei and Bakura. True to his word, Bakura always shielded Rei from Master, enabling Rei to escape the beatings with one or two scrapes and bruises. One thing Bakura couldn't prevent though, was that Rei grew to fear yelling and would curl herself up protectively if master shouted.

One night, about the time Rei had been there for about a half of a year, Bakura made a stupid mistake and master descended on him with a whip. Rei rushed forward and placed herself in front of Bakura.

"Rei, get out of the way," Bakura murmured, surprised at Rei's boldness.

Rei looked over her shoulder at him and smiled softly before the now four year old turned back to face Master. "I should protect my brother as he does for me," she answered, not budging.

Master was taken aback by Rei's statement. So it seemed his slaves were growing closer than he had suspected, and both were willing to sacrifice their own health and safety for the other's well-being. What a conundrum. "So be it," he decided, striking Rei and sent her to the floor, beating her mercilessly. When Bakura tried to get between them, Master merely kicked him away. All Bakura could do was watch as Master beat Rei till she was bloody, cringing when he spat on her as a finishing touch and disappeared into his room.

Bakura waited a minute and then slowly moved to Rei. "You ok Rei?" he asked softly, helping her roll onto her stomach since her back was torn from the whip. Rei whimpered and shook her head.

"It hurts," she whimpered, tears streaking down her face. Bakura shushed her gently and after a moment's hesitation, slid his arms under her and lifted her into a kneel before lifting her into his arms. Rei wrapped her arms around his neck and let out a soft cry as the movement stretched the muscles in her back, thus agitating the whip cuts.

Shushing her again, Bakura headed into their room and sat her on her bed. Gently peeling the back of her dress away, Bakura calmly offered Rei a small smile to calm her and retrieved a bowl of water and a clean cloth. He set to work cleaning the wounds, thinking about the beating.

"Rei," he started, "why did you call me your brother?"

"'cause that's what you are to me," she replied, grateful for the distraction from the burning sensation in her back.

"But…we aren't related…" he protested weakly.

"'Kura, we might not share blood but siblings look out for each other," she pointed out.

"I'm not good at this sort of thing," Bakura muttered, causing Rei to giggle softly.

"Well, we'll learn," she answered. Feeling Bakura finish, Rei turned and crawled behind him. Bakura was about to ask her what she was up to before he got cut off with a slight hiss, feeling the wet cloth get dabbed against his own whip wounds, cleaning the blood from his back.

"Sorry Kura…" Rei shifted her hold on the cloth and dabbed in a gentler fashion. Bakura relaxed and let Rei tend to him. The little girl made sure every cut was taken care of before she crawled around Bakura and into his lap. Bakura wrapped his arms around her loosely and sighed. "We make quite a pair," he said softly, starting to rock Rei to lull her to sleep, "One day, I'll be famous enough to cause people to tremble at my name."

"Mine too," Rei mumbled, cuddling closer to Bakura. Bakura laughed softly and pet her hair.

"Yes, your name too. Sleep well little sister, I shall see you in the morning." Once Rei fell asleep, Bakura looked out the window from where he was laying and looked towards the sky. With a silent vow, he promised himself to make himself and Rei into the best thieves that he possibly could.

**End Flashback**

_It wasn't too long after that beating that Bakura started to teach me what he knew as a thief. I took to the lessons quickly and we started honing our skills by stealing some of the food that we were sent to get when we went to the market. It was never the same items twice or even three times in a row that we stole, just so suspicion wouldn't be raised. When we were done shopping, Bakura would pocket the extra money that would be left over that would have gone towards our stolen goods and would later slip off to our room and add it to our growing collection. Bakura was going to use our nest egg to secure a home for us when we were finally free. The plan was to pocket a little each week, however…we didn't realize that we were bound to get caught…_


	3. Chapter 3

YSF: ok, since Hidden Secrets is giving me trouble, I decided to make an offshoot story. It focuses on my OC, Rei, and tells about her beginnings, how she met Bakura, and the events that led to her ending up in the present.

Rei: Joy

YSF: Hush. It's for those who wonder where the heck I make some things up. Time to start bringing in more characters…

Note: it's not canon, but merely my interpretation of events.

Disclaimer: I don't own yugioh, I'll get back to you if that ever changes

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Rei sat on a window sill in the Kaiba mansion, overlooking the spacious grounds. It seemed that every weekend, the group would get together at someone's house. Normally Rei didn't like going, but this weekend party/sleepover was being hosted at the Kaiba mansion. There were plenty of places that she could go to get away from the likes of Anzu and the embodiment of loud noise that was Joey. Sometimes, if he wasn't busy at the time, Seto would allow Rei to hide in his office while he got some work done.

"Enjoying the view?" came an amused question from behind her. Rei turned and offered up a small smile at Seto.

"This is my favorite spot here…why aren't you with the others?" she asked.

"Same reason you are. Sometimes I prefer peace and quiet and holding a civilized conversation with someone who doesn't constantly talk about dueling all the time," Seto replied, leaning against the wall near Rei and taking a sip from a mug of coffee in his hands.

"Well sometimes you start the dueling conversation," Rei pointed out, shifting her notebook onto her lap from where it was starting to slide from the windowsill.

"And that's only when I feel like riling Yami up. The pharaoh's buttons are so easy to push," Seto replied with a chuckle. Glancing over at Rei he motioned to the notebook. "I saw you holding that when you came in. you didn't seem to want to put it down. Is there something important in it?"

Rei looked down at the notebook as Seto took another drink of coffee. "It holds my memories. My brother suggested it since I have been plagued with nightmares about them lately. Bakura said it helped him let go of the past and thinks it'll do me some good."

Seto thought about that and nodded. "I guess that makes sense," he replied, pushing off the wall and turning to head back to the others, "Though if you're going to write in it, you might not want to be out in the open lest the mutt and the friendship geeks look over your shoulder and learn something you don't want them to. You may use my office if you'd like, you know where it is." With that Seto walked off and vanished back downstairs towards the laughter and loud chatter.

Rei smiled at Seto's back before getting up and scampering to his office, shutting herself in. "He's definitely not like his past life," she mused, settling comfortably on the soft leather couch before opening her notebook and beginning to write.

**Flashback**

Everything had been going smoothly for about two months. Bakura was growing more and more confident in his skills. Normally that was a good thing, but it also inflated his ego. He and Rei had a system worked out. While Rei would get the items that they decided to buy from the targeted location, Bakura would approach from the other side of the stand and quickly snatch what had been targeted to be stolen that week.

Bakura took pride in his little sister. Since she was small for her age, she would use that to her advantage and turn an impressive cute act on the shop keepers to keep their attention with big eyes and a shy demeanor. It never failed and Bakura was usually gone by the time the shop keeper finished helping the cute little girl and turned to service another. He always had to laugh because as soon as Rei would rejoin him, her face would morph into an impish smirk, the cute act dying off, tucked away for next week.

However, one day as Bakura was slipping away, a hand landed firmly on his shoulder, causing him to freeze. Turning, he let out a soft curse at seeing one of Master's friends behind him, staring down at him. Bakura found himself steered towards Rei, who looked up at his approach and paled at seeing Master's friend before dropping her gaze meekly since it was beaten into her to keep her gaze averted from master's friend's faces. Bakura could only watch with growing dread as the man smoothed over any thought the shopkeeper had of Bakura stealing something, merely saying to add it to the order that Rei was getting filled and that their master must have forgotten to add it to the list, but thank the gods that Bakura remembered it. Once Rei paid, Master's friend escorted them home once Rei answered his query that that stand was their last stop.

"What's going on?" Master asked his friend as Bakura and Rei slipped away to put the groceries away. Once in the kitchen, Bakura helped Rei with the groceries before kneeling down in front of her.

"Listen to me, little Rei. I know Master is going to punish me. He'll probably lock you in our room so you can't interfere. However I have a task for you. I need you to make sure our nest egg can't be found. There's a loose panel in the wall by my pallet. Put in there and make sure it can't be found. Do you understand?" he asked, his voice barely louder than a soft murmur.

"I understand, Kura," Rei replied just as quietly before hugging Bakura around the neck. Bakura returned the hug and then stood, ruffling the smaller girl's short hair, smiling slightly as the hair fell perfectly back into place around her ears.

"Come on, let's go get this over with," Bakura said, taking Rei's hand and leading her out to the living room area. The two found Master standing before the hearth, his friend sitting nearby.

"Rei, go into your room," Master ordered.

"But you're gonna hurt 'kura," she whined.

"Go on Rei, I'll be fine," Bakura assured, leaning down to kiss Rei's forehead before straightening and giving Rei a gentle push towards their room. Rei reluctantly went, jumping when the door closed sharply behind her and she heard the lock being slid into its spot. Immediately, Rei went and got the bag of coins out of its hiding place and climbed onto Bakura's pallet. Finding the loose panel, she silently put the bag into the alcove and was about to replace the panel when a blood curdling scream ripped through the air.

Rei quickly replaced the panel and rushed to the door that separated her from the main living area. Pulling with all her might, she let out a frustrated cry when the door refused to open. Hearing Bakura scream again, Rei slumped to her knees and rested her forehead against the door, tears running down her face. Knowing that Bakura was on the other side of the door, helpless and in much pain judging from the intensity of the sobs heard over the crackling fire and Master's and his friend's voices, tore sobs out of Rei's own throat.

"Kura…" she whimpered, wishing she could comfort him. It seemed like an eternity passed and Rei was about to fall into an exhausted sleep while still leaning against the door, when she was startled into awakeness by the sound of the lock being drawn slowly. Rei scrambled back at the sound and stood before creeping to the door and opening it slowly, gasping at the sight.

Bakura was on his hands and knees near the door, gasping from exertion. His back was a mess of torn skin and blood, no doubt from the whip that Master was so fond of using. Rei looked a little closer and gasped a little at the deepness of some of the wounds. Rei continued her examination, kneeling next to Bakura and looking him over.

"C-careful Rei," Bakura rasped, his voice gone from screaming. The little girl nodded and finished up taking note of Bakura's wounds before glancing at his face and letting out a little wail. The right side of Bakura's face was covered in blood, the source being a huge slice going down the side of his face and over his eye.

Bakura shushed Rei, raising up with difficulty and pulled her to him with his left arm so she didn't get all bloody. "Shh, it's ok Rei. I need you to bandage me up, meaning I'm going to need you to stitch up my face. Will you be able to do it?" he asked. Rei looked up at him with fresh tears in her eyes and shakily nodded.

Pulling away from Bakura, Rei fetched the medical supplies that they kept handy and returned, kneeling in front of Bakura, who had relocated to in front of the fire so Rei could use the fire for sterilization. Darting into the kitchen real fast, Rei returned with a large bowl of water. Bakura reached into the basket of supplies and pulled out a cloth, putting it over the right side of his face and putting pressure on it with a small hiss. When Rei looked at him concerned, Bakura waved her off. "Do my back first. That way I can stop the bleeding so you can be done quicker."

With a nod, Rei set to work cleaning and bandaging Bakura's back, Bakura letting out a loud hiss when the salt that Rei had mixed into the water touched the wounds. "Gotta clean it good somehow," was the only reply Bakura got in response to his squirming.

When his back was all done, Bakura got up and shushing Rei's protests, helped her clean up the blood all over the floor before heading into their room and laying down on his bed. "Ready Rei?" he asked, reaching up to remove the bloody cloth.

Rei nodded and crawled up next to him and helped him remove the cloth. With a grimace, Rei dipped her cloth into the salt water and gently started to clean the cuts, falling backwards in surprise as Bakura let out a howl of pain as the bloody salt water flowed into the cut on his eyes.

"That fucking hurts!" Bakura howled. Rei climbed back onto the bed and, deciding drastic measures were in order, sat on Bakura's chest to keep him down. Ignoring him, she sprinkled some more salt into the cut and started to stitch him up. Bakura tried to stay still as Rei stitched above and below his eye.

When all that was left to stitch was Bakura's eyelids, Rei frowned and shook her head. "I can't do it, Kura," she whispered, frightened.

"I need you to, little one," Bakura soothed, reaching up and pulling Rei's head down gently so he could kiss her forehead, "I trust you Rei."

Rei whimpered but nodded. Picking up her needle, Rei leaned in close and ever so carefully stitched Bakura's lower eyelid together. "There, see? Not so bad," Bakura encouraged, "Now you just need to do my upper lid and that's easier."

With a nod, Rei gathered up her courage and carefully stitched Bakura's eyelid. Once done, Rei placed a folded cloth over the right side of his face and bandaged it into place. "There… done," she announced with a sigh. Bakura reached up and pulled her down to lay on his chest, using him as a mattress.

"You know," Bakura started, running a hand through Rei's hair, smiling as she cuddled closer to him happily, "you'd probably make a good healer once we're finally free."

"Really?"

Bakura nodded and Rei smiled, cuddling closer to him. "Then I'll be the best healer Egypt has ever seen!" she exclaimed proudly.

"That's my girl," Bakura replied drowsily, drifting off to sleep, Rei following soon after.

**End Flashback**

_The cut on Bakura's face healed up with only a scar, including his eyelid. Master would often remind him of the punishment for a while after the incident. Nevertheless, me and Bakura continued to steal once Master's interest died back down. If anything, instead of being deterred from stealing, we used the lesson learned to increase our stealth and outlook. Bakura wasn't caught again, but I was caught twice. Instead of my face being cut up, Master cut deeply into my shoulder both times. That in itself was puzzling as to why, but I didn't dwell on it since Bakura and I had to regain my arm's mobility each time since the muscles were damaged from the hot knife sliding through my shoulder. To this day I bear an x-shaped scar to remind me of my failures. We continued to improve our thieving through the years until one fateful day…the day that Bakura turned 18 and the same day my life would change forever._


	4. Chapter 4

YSF: ok, since Hidden Secrets is giving me trouble, I decided to make an offshoot story. It focuses on my OC, Rei, and tells about her beginnings, how she met Bakura, and the events that led to her ending up in the present.

Rei: Joy

YSF: Hush. It's for those who wonder where the heck I make some things up. Time to start bringing in more characters…

Note: it's not canon, but merely my interpretation of events.

Disclaimer: I don't own yugioh, I'll get back to you if that ever changes

* * *

Another week gone by and now it was Friday again. This time, since it was late spring the group decided on the zoo, Rei never having been to one before. Rei, upon entering the zoo just stopped dead in her tracks and just stared.

"Rei?" Bakura questioned, turning to look at her. Rei seemed to snap out of her trance and started to back away subconsciously.

"T-they're all in cages…." she whispered.

Yami, sensing that she was about to bolt, strode forward and placed his hands on her shoulders, forcing her to stop. "Rei, look at me," he urged softly. Seeing the fright in the emerald eyes, he smiled reassuringly and moved a hand to her face, thumb stroking the cheekbone's edge softly. "This isn't like Egypt, Rei," he said in a quiet voice, "These animals are in cages so they can be gazed upon in awe. If you look at them, you'll see that they are happy. The bars are only to protect the onlookers in case one of the animals feels like trying to attack them."

Rei relaxed a little at the gentle caress, eyes fluttering closed at the touch. "Wouldn't they be happier in their natural environment?" she wondered.

"Some wouldn't survive," Bakura put in, coming up to the two, "Some of these animals are put into these false habitats so they can live in peace without being hunted."

Both Yami and Bakura relaxed at seeing Rei nod slowly and go rejoin Ryou, Ryou immediately asking Rei what animals she'd like to see first. "I'm surprised, koi. You handled that incredibly well," Bakura murmured to Yami as they turned to follow the group.

"Rei's reluctance to warm up to me makes it hard, but I've taken note of what you have done in the past," the ex-pharaoh admitted. "What brought it on anyway?"

"Rei was locked in a cage once or twice. She was sold to a slave trader and was kept in a cage with several others. From what she told me, it was some of the worst treatment of her life, to be caged up and poked and prodded at by potential buyers," Bakura explained.

"I didn't know she had it that rough…."

"You'd rather not know…trust me."

**Flashback**

Bakura opened his eyes in the pre-dawn light. With a yawn and a content sigh, he stretched and then looked over towards Rei's bed. Smiling at seeing his sister still curled up asleep, Bakura rolled out of bed and went to her, tucking the blankets around her. When Rei started stirring slightly, Bakura stroked her hair until she settled back down into slumber.

Bakura stood once he was sure Rei would sleep a little longer and looked out the small window in their room. It looked to be a nice day. That was good. With a smile, Bakura headed out of the room and fetching the buckets the two used, started towards the Nile to get the day's water, thinking of the deal he and master had made for that day. Once the morning chores were done, master was allowing Rei and Bakura to have the day off.

Once Bakura returned with the water, he went to go rouse Rei. Entering their room, he smiled at seeing Rei sitting up in her bed, blinking blearily. "Morning Sleepy," he teased. Rei smiled before looking at the sunlight streaming in through the window, eyes widening.

"Kura! Why didn't you wake me sooner?" she demanded, starting to scramble out of bed. Bakura easily caught his slender sister and gently pushed her back onto the bed.

"I made a deal with master. Today, we get the morning chores done, and then we have the rest of the day to ourselves. I already fetched the day's water. All we need to do is make master his breakfast and do laundry before going grocery shopping, stuff that we can get done before midday is upon us," he explained.

Rei looked at Bakura with wonder. "How did you convince him of that?" she asked.

"Well, today is my birthday…my 18th birthday," Bakura explained, seeing Rei's face somber up. He figured she hadn't remembered the deal he had told her about years ago, but judging by the look on the young teenager's face, she remembered all too well. "Hey. Don't give me the sad eyes," he scolded gently, cradling her face with his hand, "I promise I will come for you when I have a place to live from using our nest-egg."

"You promise?" Rei murmured. When Bakura nodded, Rei offered him a small smile. "Happy birthday then." With that, Rei got up and after stretching, headed into the kitchen to start on making breakfast, running a hand through her short hair. She couldn't wait to see how it looked when she could finally grow it out, Master not letting her grow it past her ears. This wasn't the first time she thought of this, but now, she could easily imagine it, the future when that would be able to happen so close…mere months away.

While Rei cooked, Bakura took care of laundry. He had become proficient enough to have it all washed and hung by the time Master had finished eating. Once he and Rei ate, they obtained the grocery list and set out for the market. It had been decided on last night that they wouldn't steal groceries this time around, in the rare chance that they'd get caught.

"Is that everything?" Bakura asked Rei about an hour later. Rei scanned the list, comparing it to the contents of the basket before nodding.

"That's everything," she replied, tucking the money bag they had been given for food shopping into the basket. It was odd seeing it empty and knowing it was all spent and not squirreled into their hidden pockets like normal.

Bakura looked up at the sun before smiling. "Well, we got our chores done faster than expected, we'll have all this put away before midday. Then we can go relax and have some fun for once," he stated, starting off towards their home, Rei scurrying to keep up with his long strides.

…

Around the time of sunset, found Bakura and Rei watching the life-giving solar disk sink into the horizon, Rei snuggled to her brother's side. Bakura stroked Rei's hair idly before looking down at her. "I know I told you it's for your own safety, but it's so odd not seeing your blue streaks," he chuckled.

Rei fingered the ends of her now solid black hair before looking up at Bakura, liking how from this angle, the sun made his russet eyes almost glow. "Going to tell me the reason why you insisted that we dye my hair?" she asked, "How is it for my own safety?"

Bakura leaned down and laid a gentle kiss on her forehead before meeting her eyes. "In all honesty, Rei, you're unique. Your looks, now that you're starting to grow into a more womanly shape and not a straight little twig, can easily be classified as exotic beauty. I don't want Master to sell you to someone else…someone who would turn you into a pleasure slave," he answered softly, "So I would feel better if you kept the blue hidden until I can come whisk you away from slavery permanently."

"Well if you put it that way, I'll do it. I'll remember to keep a good supply of the dye you bought for me."

"Good girl," Bakura smiled before watching the sun vanish below the horizon. Standing he helped Rei up before starting back to Master's house. Day off or no day off, Bakura knew master wouldn't appreciate it if they came home too late.

The next morning, Rei woke up at her normal time and looked around blearily for Bakura. She usually woke before him and not seeing him confused her. She knew they fell asleep curled up together last night…oh wait. She remembered now. As she had been starting to doze off, Bakura had murmured something about not being here in the morning, meaning he must have left some time in the night after Rei had fallen asleep. With a resigned sigh, she got up and went to fetch the water, already missing Bakura's teasing about her 'sleepwalking' to the river.

For the first few days, Master didn't punish Rei for not completing all of the chores since it was clear she was struggling to adjust to doing it all herself. But over the course of a month, it also became very clear that the workload was just too much for Rei to take on by herself, so Master decided to buy a new slave, one that was actually born and raised to a life of service. Immediately master's two slaves took an instant dislike to each other.

From what he could hear in the mornings, Ashep, his new slave, wouldn't let Rei do chores she was accustomed to like carrying the water from the Nile, instead leaving her with 'woman jobs' as he had put it such as cooking and cleaning and pretty much confining her to the house while he did the food buying and whatnot. Unfortunately Rei had a short temper like Bakura did and was prone to striking the older slave in retaliation, thus provoking a fight.

It finally became too much, Master wanted the relative peace that had existed when Bakura was still around back. So one day Rei was told to gather what little possessions she had and to accompany Master for the day. Rei, eager to leave the yard for once, didn't question it and obediently followed Master until she noticed as he was talking to someone, that other person gave Master gold coins, which he pocketed before motioning her forwards.

"Master?" she wondered quietly once she had come up, keeping her eyes lowered, not looking at either man's eyes. She had a really bad feeling about this.

"I am not your master anymore," the man, that she had always known to be her master, told her before giving her a small push to the other man. "By the way, that solid black in her hair isn't natural…she has a second color," he told Rei's new owner before turning and leaving Rei with her new owner.

Rei could only swallow as much fear as she could as she meekly followed her new master. She wanted Bakura…badly. As she followed the man into a building, Rei cringed as cages became visible. She knew where she was now…Rei had just been sold to a slave trader. She could be sold anywhere in Egypt she realized as she was pushed into a cage that already held three other women. At least the cage wasn't terribly cramped, she could still move around a little.

Deciding curling up in a corner would be the best option right now, Rei curled up and buried her face into her knees. Her future with Bakura seemed to shrink away a bit further. Closing her eyes, she prayed to whoever would listen that if she was sold before Bakura could find her, she would stay around the Thebes area.

That night, Bakura, sticking to the shadows, followed a well familiar path to the place of his servitude. It was time to collect his sister. He probably could have done so a lot earlier than two and a half months after his release, but his desire to care for her and his pride had gotten in the way, so he had waited until he could actually give her luxury and comfort that she deserved. Reaching the house, Bakura slunk to the window of their old room and peered in. Looking around the room, Bakura frowned at seeing a male asleep in his old bed. Looking towards Rei's bed, he was surprised to find it empty, and all her little possessions gone.

Stepping back, he felt cold dread wash over him. Rei never let anyone touch those trinkets and seeing them gone made Bakura realize that she wasn't here anymore. He just knew she wasn't dead, but now he had a whole city and perhaps a whole country to search. One thing was for sure though…he wouldn't stop until he found her. And his first stop would be the slave markets of Thebes.

**End Flashback**

_Had Bakura come for me one day earlier, I would never have been sold to the trader. I don't blame him for anything though, even though after he learned it he felt incredibly guilty. I don't think I blame Bakura for anything that's happened to me that had inadvertently been his fault. It's just the hands that life dealt us. Though, my luck of the draw was about to get a ton worse. Almost fatally worse._


	5. Chapter 5

YSF: ok, since Hidden Secrets is giving me trouble, I decided to make an offshoot story. It focuses on my OC, Rei, and tells about her beginnings, how she met Bakura, and the events that led to her ending up in the present.

Rei: Joy

YSF: Hush. It's for those who wonder where the heck I make some things up. Time to start bringing in more characters…

Note: it's not canon, but merely my interpretation of events.

Disclaimer: I don't own yugioh, I'll get back to you if that ever changes

A/N: oh yes, Rei gets to drink wine or beer because a) I said so, and b) the beer and wine in ancient Egypt wasn't very alcoholic, simply because the Egyptians did not give it time to ferment.

* * *

Rei cuddled with Bakura and Marik on the couch of Ryou's house, eyes transfixed on the TV. She and the three yamis loved watching Ancient Egypt documentaries. They liked to pick apart details that the historians got wrong…just like they were doing now…except for the palace and royalty parts since Yami wasn't there to give input. He was off doing something to promote Duel Monsters.

"Well that's not right," Bakura snorted when they reached a section on diet in Egypt, "Commoners had plenty of meat to eat. Just because it wasn't luxury meats didn't mean we didn't have them."

"Yeah," Rei agreed, "The main staple was fish. And I don't care what the food regulators today say, fish is a type of meat…all muscle is a type of meat."

"Except the gonads…"

"Shut up Marik!" Bakura laughed, flinging a handful of popcorn over Rei's head at the blonde. "I don't need to know about a fish's reproductive parts!"

Rei giggled. "What I liked the most was pheasant. That was probably my favorite meat of all. Beef just couldn't compare."

"Yeah, pheasant was good," Marik agreed, turning his attention back to the screen. Bakura idly covered Rei's ears as Marik exploded, ranting at the screen as they described the tombs and their shoddy care.

Leaning back into Bakura's hold, Rei giggled, able to hear the rant Marik was spouting about the historian's ineptitude, but wasn't bothered by it since Bakura had covered her ears, always aware of her ever present fear of shouting.

"Mariku, calm down," she soothed with a smile, "don't pop a blood vessel."

Marik looked over at Rei and seeing her ears covered by Bakura's hands and Bakura giving him a stern look, Marik smiled sheepishly and busied himself with his drink, fighting to hide his slight blush. He had forgotten about Rei's fear…again.

"Oh goody, Marik is blushing. I never thought I'd see the day. Rei, you have to tell me your secret," Yami said once Bakura had lowered his hands from Rei's ears, having just arrived in the doorway.

Rei turned and smirked slightly at Yami. "Maybe I'll tell you later. For now, sit, you're missing the documentary."

Yami entered the living room and flopped on Bakura's other side, tossing a leather-clad leg over the arm of the couch comfortably. "Did I miss anywhere that I can put my two cents in?" he asked.

Bakura thought for a moment. "Only a little, they only barely touched on royalty. Your turn is coming up."

"Who wants to place bets that the great, nameless pharaoh will be mentioned?" Rei asked idly. Bakura and Marik raised their hands immediately, followed by a reluctant Yami.

"I do have a name…" he grumbled.

**Flashback**

Rei woke up the next morning to gentle shaking. Lifting her head curiously, she let out a small squeak of surprise at seeing a face she didn't recognize in front of her. Immediately after the squeak though, she blushed slightly, feeling embarrassed.

"Sorry," the female who had woken Rei apologized quietly, "but if Duzan gets here and you're still asleep he'll kick you to wake you up."

"Duzan?" Rei wondered with a yawn, uncurling and standing with the other's help, stretching to rid herself of the stiffness. Looking around, Rei noticed in the other cages, the other slaves were also being roused by those who woke first.

"That's the name of the trader," one of the other females in Rei's cage piped up, "He sells females only in case you haven't noticed. His brother sells males. Haven't seen you around before today. Usually all the female slaves have been here together at some point or another…what's your name?"

"I'm Rei, and I wasn't born in Thebes…I'm from Kom Ombo," she answered.

"Oooh, Sobek's religious center. I'm Shilae," the first one introduced, "I used to be a slave of the temples."

"You never told us that, Shilae," another slave from one of the other cages called over.

"Well, I didn't because I just came from the temple. I was sold back because I wasn't fulfilling my duties. Too many handsome priests flitting around, it's tough being a young female and not be distracted," she replied, smiling when the other slaves in the room demanded to know more.

"So, how long do you think I'll be here?" Rei wondered softly.

Shilae looked Rei over before smiling. "I think you'll be a lucky one and sell quickly…no longer than a week definitely.

Somehow, Rei didn't think that was lucky at all. She didn't want to be sold; she wanted Bakura to come rescue her. She had dreamed last night that he was searching for her and wanted to believe that the dream was a vision of what Bakura had been up to last night and not just her mind playing a cruel trick on her.

…

By midday, Rei was sick and tired of being in the trader's possession. When Duzan had come in at daybreak, he fed the females before pulling Rei out of the cage. Rei had curiously followed him until he bound her hands to keep her from struggling and proceeded to scrub the black dye out of her hair until the bright blue streaks showed once more.

Rei ignored Duzan as he untied her hands, commenting on how much her worth had gone up with this exoticness and followed him back to the cage. It wasn't long until the nobles and other people higher up on the food chain of citizens of Egypt came to buy new slaves.

Rei's looks constantly caught the eyes of many interested buyers, but to her satisfaction she wasn't sold. Mostly because the price for her was a tad too high for some, and for the others willing to pay the price, Rei's sharp tongue and attitude towards potential buyers turned the rest away. Granted, every time she failed to be sold, Duzan would backhand her and roughly shove her back into the cage. The abuse was nothing new to Rei, however, so she was able to shrug off the hit relatively quickly.

Finally about midday a man entered the trader's and all of the females slowly stopped the chatting they had been doing to pass the time. "What's going on, Shilae?" Rei murmured.

"That man…he comes in every so often to buy a new slave or two…usually, we don't ever see those that he buys again," Shilae explained softly before falling silent as the man approached their cage.

"I want to see the one with the blue," he told Duzan. Duzan nodded and opening the cage, grabbed Rei by the arm and yanked her out, Rei stumbling with an annoyed growl. She glared at the man before her jaw was grabbed and she was looked over.

"Rei here may be exotic, but she has quite the tongue and attitude on her," Duzan warned him.

The prospective buyer hummed thoughtfully, looking her over still before recoiling in disgust as Rei spat in his face. Stepping back, he backhanded Rei hard across the face, sending her to the floor before wiping his face off. "Apparently her old master failed to teach her discipline," he growled.

"I sincerely apologize. I shall be sure to discipline her tonight," Duzan assured.

"There is no need. I intend to buy her. It's been a while since I had a challenge," Rei's soon to be master answered, "name your price." Upon hearing the price of Rei, the man nodded and looked around the room at the other silent slaves. "I'll take her too," he added, pointing at Shilae. Rei was secretly glad that the one other slave here that seemed to look out for her was bought with her although she could feel her heart breaking.

As Shilae was let out of the cage and helped her off the floor while their new master paid, Rei couldn't help but feel miserable as the prospect of seeing Bakura in the near future shrunk even more. She had no idea where she was going, nor the type of security she would be held in. It would be near impossible to escape until she had a solid feel for her new home. Hanging her head, Rei followed her new master and Shilae.

…

Not even two hours later, the door to Duzan's opened and Bakura stepped in. He had borrowed clothes of nobility from his friend, his friend insisting on being told the situation first. Luckily the two were the same size so that Bakura could borrow the other's clothes for a day.

"Welcome good sir, how may I help you today?" Duzan asked, coming from another room. Bakura's eyes scanned the cages before focusing on Duzan. Immediately he could tell he didn't like the man.

Bakura flashed a charming smile. "I am looking for a slave. I was hoping you'd have something of a more…exotic flavor than the standard black hair, brown eyes?" he asked.

"Well, I did…quite an unusual find too. Blue streaks in her hair and eyes the color of emeralds. However, you just missed her. She was bought not even two hours ago," he said apologetically.

Bakura's hand fisted inside of his pocket. Rei had been here, but again he just missed her. "Well, I fear a common slave just doesn't suit my tastes. If she gets sold back here, keep her reserved for me," he told Duzan, moving forward and placing several gold coins into his hand.

Duzan's eyes lit up. "O-of course, sir. I shall keep her on hold should she come back," he said, bowing out into another room. Bakura turned to leave but another slave waved him over.

"I don't think you are truly looking to buy Rei," she said, "You did not seem happy that she was sold…especially since she just got here yesterday."

"She was only here a day?" mentally Bakura could kick himself. It seems like he's one step behind Rei but can't seem to time anything right lately. "Do you know who she was sold to?"

The slave frowned. "She and another that she had befriended were bought by a cruel man. He uses his slaves for pleasure on top of other chores that they must do, and if they resist him or fail to complete a task, he will punish them severely," she informed him, "Why is Rei so important to you anyway?"

Bakura smiled sadly. "She's my sister," he explained, "How do you know all this about her master?"

"I was one of the few he's ever sold back. I have remained here being nursed back into serviceable health until I can be sold again. If you're going to rescue Rei, I hope you find her before it is too late. With her attitude I fear she will not remain in good health for long. I've seen people waste away and die from my old master's punishments," she warned before passing Rei's bag over. "Here…she didn't get a chance to grab this before she was taken away."

Bakura took the bag, his hand trembling slightly. "Thank you," he murmured, "Do you remember where you lived?"

The slave put a finger to her lips in thought. "It was…near the Nile because we were put to work in irrigated fields. I can't remember how far away it is though."

Bakura nodded in thanks and stood, immediately heading out of the building. He wasn't delaying any longer, he was going to find his sister and get her out of that potential hell hole. Heading to his home in the city, Bakura entered the two-story house and looked around. He was proud of his home, it took him a while to get it all set up to his liking. Going upstairs, Bakura entered what he had designated as Rei's room and set the bag of her possessions gently on the bed before going to his room. Changing into his normal outfit, Bakura left and made his way to the Nile and began his long search.

…

Rei sighed and shifted her position where she was curled up with a chain around her ankle. These past few months in this place had been horrible. She didn't mind the physical labor too much; it was a welcome change from Ashep's forcing her to remain in the house. What she did mind, however, was her master's unwelcome advances on her. She bluntly refused him every time, and every time she did, she would find herself chained up where she was now and not fed until she decided to 'behave.'

Once she was set free, she would be sparingly fed then put back out into the fields until master decided to make another advance on her. And the cycle would start over and continue on and on and on. "I don't know why he keeps trying, I'll never let him lay his slimy hands on me, not to mention he has so many slaves to choose from," she grumbled to herself, pushing her hair back out of her face. At least one of her dreams would come true, she finally could grow her hair out and it was now brushing her shoulders. Granted, it was lackluster and had stopped growing due to shortage of nutrients to her system.

"Isn't it obvious? Your looks are unique. Master wants to use you for possible breeding," one of the other slaves told her as said slave approached Rei with some water to drink.

"I'd rather die," Rei retorted, taking the bowl and sipping from it. The water was nice and cool and felt good. If only she could have some bread to go with it. Suddenly Rei missed Shilae. Shilae had protected her from their master for a time until Shilae had been given to their master's brother. She hadn't seen Shilae for at least two months and hoped she was better off than what she currently was.

"Well, at the rate you're going, that shouldn't take too long," the slave snubbed, standing and leaving Rei with her water. Rei finished off her water before curling up and trying to get some sleep even though it was only middle afternoon. Before she drifted off, Rei sent out a silent plea to the gods, asking…no, begging them to allow Bakura to find her. She had been holding on as long as she could, but was sure if master starved her too much longer, she would die of malnutrition. 'Bakura, hurry,' she thought before she slipped into unconsciousness.

Bakura looked over the plantation at sunset, lips curling in disgust. His noble friend had found out where Rei was, having used his connections and the grapevine to locate her. Unusual slaves tended to generate talk amongst others. By the looks of it, Rei was not with the other slaves, but he was confident that she was here. He wouldn't miss and fail her again.

Once darkness descended, Bakura scaled the wall with the help of a tree that was next to the wall and jumped to the ground. Slipping across the grounds, Bakura approached the large dwelling and after a quick survey, snuck in through a window. "Perfect," he purred, noticing that he was in the main bedroom and heavy footsteps were approaching.

When the man came into the room, unsuspecting of the impending danger, Bakura struck. Grabbing the man by the throat, he pinned him to the wall. "You have something of mine, and I want it back," Bakura growled lowly.

Rei's master squirmed, trying to break loose and identify his captor. "I have no such thing. Everything of mine is bought and paid for. Besides, I don't even know who you are."

"Who I am is of no concern to you. Now let's try this again," Bakura hissed, tightening his grip on the captive throat, "You have my sister captive. Now you can either cooperate and let me take her, thus letting you live, or I can kill you and search until I find her. You choose."

When the man spat at him, Bakura drew his knife in a quick flash of silver in the darkness and slit open the man's throat. Dropping the bleeding corpse, Bakura stepped over it and started his search of the house. Upon finding Rei, Bakura felt his rage well up and wished to bring the bastard back to life only to kill him in a worse way.

Kneeling down next to Rei, he brushed the limp bangs from her face and breathed a sigh of relief at hearing her sigh at the gentle caress. Quickly picking the lock around her ankle, Bakura scooped Rei gently into her arms and frowned at a new discovery. Rei was awfully light. Rubbing her back gently, Bakura winced at feeling spine, shoulder blades, and ribs under the cloth of her dress. Holding her more carefully, Bakura made his way out of the plantation and made his way home.

Once he reached home, Bakura set to work, bathing Rei and bandaging any wounds she had. Now that he could see her clearly, Bakura winced at just how thin his beloved sister had become. Her face had become hollow and sunken and she pretty much looked all skin and bone. Finally finishing and getting Rei into a clean dress, Bakura carried her upstairs and tucked her into bed. Deciding she would be less likely to freak with him next to her, Bakura joined her, falling asleep quickly for once. He had his sister back, and that's all that mattered. He no longer had to spend sleepless nights wondering where she could be.

In the morning Rei stirred sleepily and snuggled to the source of warmth next to her. She felt like she was dreaming, comfortable for the first time in a very long time and had no wish for it to end. However, as her mind slowly woke up, she realized that she was indeed lying in a bed, felt clean, and the source of warmth under her cheek was in fact a male chest. Squeaking in alarm, Rei scrambled backwards until she almost fell off the other side of the bed. What stopped her would be unplanned descent, was a strong arm wrapping around her waist.

"Careful, sleepyhead," came a soft chuckle. Rei stiffened, hardly daring to believe it and slowly turned to look at who was next to her. What she saw made her heart almost stop. Bakura was who she had been curled up with, him laying there patiently with a smile on his face.

Rei's eyes widened as far as they'd go. "B-b-b…"

Bakura couldn't help but grin in amusement. "Welcome home Rei," he answered softly, nodding at what she was trying to say. Rei smiled and launched herself to the best of her ability into his arms and snuggled there, sobbing. "Bakura, it's really you!" she cried softly, grabbing his coat and holding it tightly.

Smile gentling, Bakura wrapped his arms around Rei, holding her securely. "It's really me," he agreed, "I'm sorry I didn't come sooner…I wanted to give you the comfort you deserved. I shouldn't have waited…I caused all this," he said softly, tracing the visible cheekbones of Rei's face.

Rei leaned into the touch, not surprised at finding herself able to forgive him easily. "You didn't know…it's not your fault. You came for me…that's all that matters now."

Bakura leaned forward and kissed her forehead gently. "Hungry?" he asked, stroking the dulled hair.

With clear hesitation Rei nodded. "I really don't know if I am but I'll try to eat something light," she replied sitting up as Bakura got up.

Bakura took the blanket and wrapped Rei in it comfortably before carrying her out of the room and down the stairs bridal style. Setting her on a comfortable lounge couch that he had…acquired from a tomb, Bakura headed into the kitchen and started to put together a stew. "When was the last time you ate?" he wondered, "You're so twiggy now."

Rei idly counted on her fingers. "I…think it was two weeks ago," she admitted.

"WHAT?!" Rei cringed at the resulting exclamation, and Bakura immediately realized his mistake. "Sorry sis. I didn't realize that you still fear yelling."

"I never had a chance to get over it…nor do I think that I will ever. Cringing at shouts has now become a deeply ingrained habit."

Bakura nodded and was silent until the stew was finished. Putting some in a bowl, he placed some bread next to it before bringing the tray to Rei. Rei reached for the spoon and took it, trying to feed herself. Bakura watched for a minute before he gently took the spoon from her hand.

"Here, let me feed you…you're so weak you can barely hold the spoon." Bakura spooned up some stew and slowly fed it to Rei, not sure how much she could handle. About a third of the bowl and a small nibbling of bread later, Rei declared she was full.

"Are you sure?" Bakura asked as he poured her some wine. He knew she was slightly cold and also knew the wine would give her a warm feeling. That, and he wanted to see her reaction to something other than water or the rare treat of goat's milk.

Rei nodded and took a sip of the offered drink. She did say she wasn't hungry, never said anything about her thirst. Eyes widening at the flavor, Rei was aware suddenly of Bakura laughing at her reaction. "What's so funny?" she demanded.

"It's called wine…its slightly fermented grape juice. I wanted to see how you'd like it and your reaction didn't disappoint," Bakura chuckled.

Rei stuck her tongue out at Bakura and took another drink of the wine. She liked it, she decided. She knew that Bakura would slowly spoil her as she grew accustomed to freedom. Freedom…she had to know how she got here in the first place. "Kura? How'd I wind up here, anyway? Last I remembered I was passing out chained to a wall."

Bakura gave a small wince and settled on the lounge and pulled Rei into his lap after moving the stew to a small table so it wouldn't slosh. "Believe it or not, I came to retrieve you from our old master's the night of the day you were sold. Not seeing you there, logic pointed me to the slave markets. Unfortunately since my friend accidentally held me up, I missed getting you from there by two hours. I've been looking these past couple months almost non-stop. Yesterday my friend finally located you through talk with other nobles, since he has those types of connections," he told her.

Rei cuddled to him with a small sound when he paused. "Go on…" she urged.

Her brother smiled and kissed the top of her head lovingly. "Well, I waited till nightfall last night and climbed down into the plantation. Sneaking into the house, I, by sheer luck, ended up in your former master's bedroom. When he came in, I grabbed him and demanded to know where you were. He refused to cooperate so I killed him…I slit his throat open and went to find you. I found you huddled in that corner, chained to the wall. I picked the lock and brought you here. You're free Rei, no one will ever take you away from me again," he promised.

Rei smiled, refusing to let her brother know that she wasn't feeling well all of a sudden. "That's great Kura, I don't want to be separated from you ever again…." She replied faintly.

"…Rei, are you ok?" Bakura asked. Rei didn't respond and suddenly went limp in his arms. "Rei?!" Bakura gently yet hurriedly shifted Rei so he could access her face. By the looks of it, she had passed out and laying his hand on Rei's head, Bakura suddenly got a whole lot more worried. Rei was burning up with a terrible fever.

**End Flashback**

_All of the maltreatment of my final master had taken its toll. My immune system couldn't fight on its own anymore. I contracted a terrible sickness and it would take all of Bakura's cunning and resources to save my life. In a way, I guess I owe the bastard who permanently screwed me and my health over some slight gratitude. Had it not been for his being such a cruel man, I never would have become as close to Bakura's best friend as I did due to my sickness. Yes, my bonding with Marik may not have ended up as well as it did had I met him in other circumstances._


End file.
